Wichita eagle., 1887-05-27
MICROBES AND MITES,

MICROBES AND MITES.
WHAT A MIcRoscoPIsr HAS TO SAY
OF THE LITTLE lNvlsDsLEs. }
/,.xhf
He Is skeptical About ~ Ailes.d n.
erobss Of Disease-Ae zczpsrimsns With
Raw '1e.s-Danss31a Uaeoos.a Pork.
Tape Worm
1Now, you see, said Dr.. schaeffer, the
microscopic, as b held before reporters
eyes little piecs Of red something he had
taken from bov lie of alcohol "You see, il
the cannibals h0i eaten him he would have
killed the whole tribe. But it was not the
| trichinosis thai; killed him. He died from
some other cause" The thing held in the
doctors hand was q piece Of the diaphragm
Of a man who died at the insane asylum. and
| it was completely filed with trichin&. They
could be easily seen with the naked eye.
On table stood that inquisitive little In
strument with which scientists discover
microbes, bacteria, infusoria, fungi and all
those death dealing invisibles before which
human nature stands in awe. The reporter
learned that upon the glass slide under this
little instrument there might be assembled in
full war paint enough microbes to infest q
large city, and he stepped back little from
| the table. Then when he thought that science
has discovered that sugar, water, meat,
cheese, tea, coffee and even flour were vehicles
in which these terrible little creatures have
free passage into the blood of their human
victims. the reporter decided to forswear ALI
food until congress had passed q law for the
determination Of microbes
The doctor is in constant intercourse with
these little terrors and gets into their secrets
He studies their habits and is familiar with
their mode Of thought He is on terms Of
easy familiarity with them.
MILLIONS oFfM1TEs
us it really very dangerous to eat breall
and sugar, or to drink w:aicr9' the scribe
asked him
mites are sCmetimes found in sugar
Ihey are all dead in refined sugar. They
i've opiy in sugar that has not been refined"
was the reply. UIn refined sugar you eat
tHeir dead bodies. They are often dread
fully mutilated by the refining process.
Arms, legs, heads and trunks are scattered
in all directions. As to their hurting you,
let me say, will eat just as many mites as
you viii bring along 1t would take many
millions to make q good meal. 1 am very
skeptical about the alleged microbes of dis
ease. For that reason 1 have not much faith
in Pasteur. fail to find this minute life in
fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, water, -four or
anything of that sort. They come with de-
cay. The life that is found in unreflned
sugar is no more injurious to the human body
than are the little shippers that are found in
cheese Limburger and other "high" cheeses
abound in microbes produced by partial de-
cay, but they are harmless. do not think
these things develop in and remain in the
human body. do not think TINY are con-
structed for that.
"You may remember" said the doctor.
"that learned gentleman of my profession
allowed some water to stay on raw meat in
the sun for two days, until it had begun to-
decay and was full Of bacteria. he then
drank it to see if the bacteria would get inta
his blood. Then at certain periods he toSk
drops of his blood and examined it under tie
microscope. At first he found one mics95e
in the blood, then two and then more, etc, so
he came to the conclusion that they went at
once into the blood after being taken into the
stomach.
"But this was not conclusive. To test it still
further I tried the experiment.. I have q
strong stomach. drank water prepared in
the same way, and in which there were mayly
thousand million bacteria. At no time did
any of them pass into my blood I fear not
the deadly micrbbe.'
TRICHINlE AND TAPE WORM
"There is nothing in fresh food and fresh
water. The life that is found in the water is
not injurious. Stale water and decayed food
are bad. These microbes are vegetable, not
animal life. With trichine it is different.
They live naturally upon the animal organ
ism. Raw pork is a thing to be Stunned.
The chances are that there are trichin@ in
any piece OF pork you may come across. A
vast number of hogs have trichinosis The
hog is q terrible breeder of disease. Besides
being responsible for trichinosis it distributes
tape worms 1t is great crime for butchers
to sell pork that has been fed on the offal Of q
slaughter house, as have seen done in this
district. 1t is spreading disease, Just as q
farmer would spread thistles if he sowed them
with his wheat. They eat small particles Of
tape worms from the entrails of other ami
mails, and the eggs develop very rapidly, and
may be planted in the humaf body by the
eating OF the hog flesh.
From two joints Of a tape worm have
seen under the glass nyriads of the eggs
flowing out. l handle most any poisonous
thing without fear, but am always careful
to wash my hands in alcohol or carboiic acid
after handling any part Of tape worm
These are the things that belong with animal
life and are to be dreaded. There is nothing
to fear from microbes, that scientists speak
of in fruit, flour and sugar, etc.
81 have formerly drank water out of the
canal l would not do it now, but it would
not be the ordinary impurities in water that
would deter me. The ordinary slop or filth
that might be thrown into the river may be
very disgusting, but there would not neces-
sarily any disease come from it. Disease
would result only from diseased matter.
Typhoid fever might be spread through the
water If the slops from the sick room, con-
tanning the germs Of the fever, were thrown
into the water. No one knows how many
miles of water it would take to wash it away.
1t would be as if you threw millions of fish
eggs in the river above the aqueduct The
chances would be that some of them would
find their way through the water pipes into
some ones drinking glass.
"But, to sum up, microbes are not found In
fresh food, and they aren't such terrible
things anyhow"
Their Doors Unlocked
A patrolman who has walked the heat for
a good many years tells me that people often
leave their doors unlocked and that il is sur